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The water sprite 'Polka de salon', RO296 Op 27

Introduction

This glittering polka is one of many Gottschalk works which finds the right hand being brillante, grazioso and leggiere [sic] at the top end of the piano. In fact, almost the entire piece is written to be played ‘8va’ (an octave above the written notation).

Gottschalk wrote it after a morosely unsuccessful spring tour in 1853 in which his appearances had been upstaged by the prior arrival on the circuit of Adelina Patti; her sister, the soprano Amalia Strakosch; the boy-wonder violinist Paul Julien; and Lola Montez, the dancer and celebrated seducer of Liszt and Ludwig II of Bavaria. After the tour disbanded in Philadelphia at the end of June, Gottschalk was commissioned to write three works for immediate publication. The Water Sprite was among them, composed while staying with his cousins at the resort of Cape May, New Jersey. It is dedicated to a ‘Miss Mary J. Smith of Philadelphia’, one of Gottschalk’s countless conquests.

Recordings

'Even the most devoted of Gottschalk's admirers will make some arresting discoveries among the less familiar works here … those who have enjoyed ...'Gottschalk is never abstruse or merely technical, but it is obvious from the elegance of his writing that he was a wonderful pianist. He is still und ...» More

With his idiomatic and graceful style, pianist Philip Martin has established himself as the foremost exponent of Gottschalk. The composer had a unique spontaneity and individuality which Martin’s performances bring vividly to the fore. The complet ...» More